(JUDAICA) [Noah Mordecai] The Fortress of Sorrento A Petit H

Sale 2473 - Lot 109

Price Realized: $ 500

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750

(JUDAICA.) [Noah, Mordecai.] The Fortress of Sorrento: A Petit Historical Drama, in Two Acts. 28 pages. 16mo, modern calf; minor toning, lacking the 2 ad leaves called for by Singerman. New York: D. Longworth, 1808

Set Alert for Similar Items

Additional Details

This play was the first published work of the playwright-journalist-diplomat Mordecai Noah (1785-1851), and the first play of Jewish authorship in America. Noah later wrote "I called in at David Longworth's Dramatic Repository one day, spoke of the little piece, and struck a bargain with him, by giving him the manuscript in return for a copy of every play he had published, which at once furnished me with a tolerably large dramatic collection. I believe the play never was performed, and I was almost ashamed to own it; but it was my first regular attempt at dramatic composition." Noah admitted on page 3 to borrowing the "leading features" of this play from the French opera Leonora. Rosenbach 148; Singerman 0185. None others known at auction since 1946.